More people are turning to online shopping amid the coronavirus restrictions with 51% of Brits saying they feel more reliant on having goods delivered.

However, 47% said they have had issues with parcel delivery since the first lockdown in March, according to charity Citizens Advice.

Its research revealed 96% of people had ordered a parcel since March and the biggest problem they faced was late delivery (30%) while 18% said they suffered a financial loss.

The charity said it has received three times as many calls about delivery issues compared to the same period last year.

Hits to its website offering advice on the matter also more than doubled from 94,000 to 208,000 in the six months to October 2020.

It found just one in three people could correctly recall their rights if something went wrong, and as part of National Consumer Week (16 – 22 November), Citizens Advice and the Consumer Protection Partnership are working to clue people up on what to do if something goes wrong.

Citizens Advice senior consumer expert, Kate Hobson, gives these top tips to help people with their parcel deliveries:

1. Check delivery policies: before you place an order find out what the delivery times, costs and returns policies are of the items you have ordered.
2. If you’re out of the house during delivery: consider asking a neighbour or friend if it can be delivered to their address if you think it may be a time or date you are not home. But beware, if you do provide details of a safe space or nominated neighbour and something goes wrong it’s not the seller or courier’s responsibility.
3. Online trader or online marketplace? Make sure you know if you are dealing with a trader or a private seller on an online marketplace as dispute processes may vary. If you have an issue with a trader, a dispute can be raised directly with them, but if it’s a private individual it may be easier to go through a marketplace’s dispute process.
4. Review traders: check and review if the trader is genuine. It’s always worth taking a look at reviews to gain an insight as to how reliable the company is and how well they deal with missing parcel complaints and refunds.
5. Who to deal with when a parcel goes missing: your purchase and contract is with the seller. If your parcel goes missing you should speak to the trader to deal with the problem, not the courier company.

Related: See YourMoney.com’s Late, missing or failed delivery? Your refund rights explained for more information.